Summer Cookout Common Mistakes—for Hosts and Guests

Happy beginning of cookout season! Memorial Day marks the first official BBQ holiday this year, and we hope you’re either hosting or attending one. But it’s been a long, cold winter for a lot of the country, and your summer party skills might be a little rusty. And that’s okay—we’re here for you! We’ve asked our two resident grill masters—food and features editor Carla Lalli Music and editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport—about the most common mistakes they’ve seen from both hosts and guests at at summer cookouts. So make your holiday as seamless as possible, and follow their advice, below.

For the Host

Ice Is Just Ice, BabyAdam Rapoport: “A BBQ is as much about standing around drinking as it is about grilling lots of food. Keep a cooler stocked with lots of beer and rosé. Have enough ice in the cooler, and enough ice for cocktails. Get your drinks in order before you worry about the food. And drinks depend on ice.”

Cookouts Are About Beer, PeriodCarla Lalli Music: “Beer is great, but explore your options. Shandies are an amazing thing for cookouts because they’re hydrating AND alcoholic—they’re just beer and lemonade. (Use a light beer like a lager or a pale ale.) Also, have plenty of nonalcoholic options on hand. It will be hot and people will get wasted. Stock your cooler with San Pellegrino sodas. They’re light, and come in flavors like blood orange, lemon, and grapefruit.”

Light Your Grill in the Middle of the PartyAR: “If you don’t start the fire till all your guests arrive, you could be eating pretty late—so start it up before! Timing is such an important thing when it comes to grilling. With a gas grill it’s easier, but if you’re using charcoal, you gotta think about how long it takes to actually get the fire going. If it takes 45 minutes to get your grill ready, and that beautiful cut of meat takes another 20 minutes to grill, then you have to let it rest, so that’s over an hour just to get the food on the table. The moral of the story? Do your math.”

Grill EVERYTHINGAR:“It’s tough to cook multiple things on the grill, so don’t feel you need to grill everything. It’s enough to have a great coleslaw or Asian noodle salad or potato salad as your sides. Then you’ll just be grilling the main attraction, which is sausages, burgers, or steaks. I think that’s perfectly okay. This isn’t campfire cooking where you’re making your whole meal over an open flame. It’s important to have everything set up and ready to go—drinks, sides, condiments—and that way, you can actually enjoy your time as grillmaster. You don’t want to be stuck doing little things.”

CLM: “Pick vegetables that can be grilled ahead of time. Then refill the grill and keep all that real estate for your proteins. You might need different temperatures to grill an avocado than you’d need to cook a steak, so take that into consideration. Also, don’t make things that require your oven or stove—you don’t want to be running back and forth between your kitchen and your backyard. And pickles! Gotta have pickles. Half-sours and full-sours. But there are so many cool pickles out there. Kimchi, carrot pickles, pickled crudités. They’ll balance out all your rich, fatty, salty, smoky flavors.”

Buy EVERYTHINGCLM: “It’s okay to borrow stuff! Coolers, serving ware, folding chairs. Don’t be afraid to ask people to bring what you really want them to bring. (Read: more ice!)”

When You Grill, Just Set It and Forget ItAR: “When you’re cooking over a live fire, you have to be on top of it. You can’t be walking away. If you’re buying a $30-a-pound ribeye and you’re putting it on the grill, you’d better be on top of it. Grilling is a very involved sport. Don’t leave your post—you’re on the clock.”

Anyone Can Man the GrillCLM: “Decide ahead of time if you’re the grillmaster or if you’re comfortable outsourcing the grilling. People will want to jump on the grill. Is it the kind of thing where people are bringing their own stuff to throw on the grill? Then by all means, let them. But if you have a set menu, try to dissuade people from taking over.”

AR: “There’s a difference between a BBQ hangout and a dinner party. If I get nice steaks for 8 people and we’re sitting down and eating dinner, I’ll want to be doing the grilling.”

Burgers Are All Anyone Really NeedsCLM: ”A cookout is a good time to get out of the burger/hot dog/chicken wing rut. If you’re having more than a dozen people, try making a pork shoulder. It goes for three or four hours, and it gets such amazing smoky flavor—and it’s great for tacos. Just take it off the grill, put it on a board with tongs, and people can just shred it.”

AR: “If you are cooking burgers, they need to be at least 20 percent fat. Don’t get that lean stuff, there’s no flavor. Squishy potato buns are a must. American cheese rules, period. Don’t use anything artisanal for your burger. I’m a fan of grilled thick-cut red onions with olive oil and salt. They get caramelized and delicious, and make a great topping.”

CLM: “Don’t be offended if the wine you bring is not the wine the host opens. They might have another plan. Whatever you do: Don’t take it back with you. And if you do bring food, bring your own serving tools—don’t assume that your host has a platter or the serve ware for it. Just make sure to bring all that with you.”

If the Host Tells You to Bring Nothing, Bring Nothing!CLM: “Text your host a half hour before the party and ask your host if they need anything. That’s when most people realize that they’re missing something crucial, like limes or paper plates or ice. (Again: never enough ice!)”

Vegetarians—Suck It Up!CLM: “I always like it when vegetarians come with their own marinated halloumi or veggie burger. Mad respect. Because, inevitably, even my potato salad will have a bacon vinaigrette on it.”